I tackled him to the ground and punched him again as he tried to block my blows. “Why did you do that?” I yelled above the rain, the storm raging around us. “You dragged me away from her!”
I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to die with Dianna, and he’d robbed me of that. So, maybe I would beat on him until either I killed him or he killed me. His fist slammed into my face, the force of the hit splitting my cheek. I welcomed the physical pain. It was a momentary distraction from my overwhelming emotional agony. He flipped me off him and rolled on top of me, gaining the upper hand. We were a tumbling mass of blood, fists, and mud until he managed to rest his knee on my throat.
“I need you, too!” Cameron yelled into my face, the rumbling of the violent sky adding power to his words. Something in me broke, and I went limp, sinking into the mud as rain splattered all around us. We stared at each other, both of us panting.
“Let me die,” I said, my voice cracking and my chest heaving.
The sound he let out was so full of anguish that I struggled to believe it came from Cameron. I thought he was going to hit me again as he lunged for me, grabbing the collar of my dark armor, but he only pulled me to him. “I can’t,” he sobbed.
Tears poured from my eyes, mixing with the rain. “She’s gone, Cameron. I saw …”
“I know,” he said like a parent coddling a child. “I know.”
An exceptionally loud clap of thunder came from above, sounding like the collision of worlds. Cameron and I scrambled to our feet, our faces turned skyward. Flashes of blinding silver light pierced the clouds, breaking through the storm and returning light to the darkness. One after another, the gods streaked across the sky. My heart thudded. Gathrriel hadn’t been wrong or crazed. The gods were alive, and they had abandoned me.
I watched in shock as they landed, not realizing what was about to happen until it was too late. They said nothing before attacking, unleashing their burning silver power. A piercing sound rent the air. We fell to our knees and grabbed our ears, my vision blurring as hands grabbed me and forced me back into the mud. Feet pressed into my back as they pulled my arms behind me and bound my wrists in another set of those cursed cuffs. As soon as the collar snapped shut around my neck, my connection to my power was severed.
Rain continued to pour over us, and I blinked away the water to focus on every silver-eyed god glaring their hatred at me. It seemed I had already been accused and found guilty. I heard Cameron hiss next to me as they placed him in chains as well. My head snapped toward him, and I snarled.
“Don’t fucking touch him!” I screamed, mud coating my face and mouth.
A lithe red-haired goddess slammed her axe handle into my face, whipping my head to the side. “You’re disgusting. How have you fallen so far?” she asked, glaring at me.
“Fuck. You,” was all I said.
I glanced at Cameron. His face was bloody, and he was soaked and covered in mud. A god I didn’t recognize had a foot on his back, holding him in place. I snarled up at the unfamiliar god, hoping my eyes conveyed my rage. Even if we weren’t bound, we couldn’t fight our way out of this. I would never risk them hurting Cameron.
Nearby, another god landed with a splash. He towered over most of the others.
“Blayne,” the red-headed goddess called. “The rest of the area is secure.”
“Any survivors?” Blayne asked. His helmet slipped away, and he ran a large hand over his closely cropped dark hair.
Another goddess landed on the heels of his question, followed closely by a celestial. The goddess’s helmet completely covered her face, but her power felt familiar.
“No,” she said curtly.
That voice. I knew that voice. Kryella?
My eyes widened, and my heart started to race, the blood pumping loudly in my ears. Kryella slid her helmet back, revealing her long braids. Her gaze slid over me with a look of pure disgust. The god next to her had a clean-shaven head and brown skin. I didn’t recognize him, but the man on her other side was heartbreakingly familiar. Xavier, alive, whole, and unable to meet my gaze. I knew where his eyes were, what they’d landed on, and I felt the bond between us shatter. Even if I couldn’t read it in his eyes and how he held himself, I had known him for eons. He thought we had betrayed him, too.
Kreylla’s magic whipped out in deceptively fragile-looking wisps. They wrapped around my body, completely subduing me. The fucking magic chains they’d bound me in clenched tightly as Kryella pulled.
“Take them to Arcelia. We will question them there,” Kryella ordered, and I knew by the look of pure hatred on her face that their questioning would not be the pleasant type. Xavier’s pain-filled eyes were the last things I saw before the bald god stepped forward and slammed a silver hammer against my head.
Honestly, the encroaching darkness was a sweet relief, pulling me from the constant blistering pain of Kryella’s magic and the much worse agony of the emptiness Dianna’s loss had created in me. For a second, I felt myself falling, falling through air, through clouds, and then through time itself.
93
DIANNA
My every nerve ending fired with pain, my skin feeling as if it was being peeled off layer by layer. I felt like I’d been tossed into a star, made and unmade, born and reborn. Bone crafted to bone, muscle to muscle, as my body reconstructed itself and screamed to life. Or was that just me screaming? The floor came into view, and I panted, air filling my lungs. The first thing I became aware of that didn’t hurt was a soft, warm scent that reminded me of cookies. Then I heard the sweet sound of birds singing. My chest still heaved as I looked around, trying to focus my blurry vision. It took a moment, but a small multicolored rug came into view below me.
What the fuck?
No, this was wrong. Was I dreaming? I was with Samkiel, and we were fighting Nismera. He needed me, and I …
I looked up and blinked again. A scatter of magazines and two cups littered a low table. I pushed to my feet only to fall back to the floor with a thud, my body struggling to keep up with itself. Feeling like a wobbly baby with new legs, I tried again. It took a few minutes, but I finally managed to remain upright and get my knees to stop shaking. Keeping a steadying hand on the wall, I looked around the room. It wasn’t very big, but the light off-white color made it seem a little more open. Someone obviously lived here. Framed pictures and diplomas were neatly organized on the walls. A TV sat on a long white and brown entertainment center, and I could see a fully stocked kitchen from here.
